Jurassic Kratts

Dancing With Dragons

No sooner had Alan picked up the phone when the Velociraptors resumed their attack, as both theropods slammed against one of the observation windows, dodging the paleontologist's bullets, until it gave way in a shower of glass as the dinosaurs sprung into the control room, eying everyone maliciously, teeth bared, claws to the ready. In that same moment, the room was flooded by two radiant lights, briefly blinding everyone. Once the glow faded, the sight that greeted Stapler and Sharpshot were the Raptor Brothers, both in their fighting stances, getting between them and their would be targets.
"You guys get out of here!"warned the green raptor, turning towards the rest of the group who were making their escape through an open ceiling panel."We'll hold them off as long as we can!"added Martin.
"But Chris–" but Aviva was cut off by a sharp reply and bared fangs, "Just go!"
She simply nodded as she reluctantly followed everyone else up the ladder, disappearing within the safety of the ceiling. Seeing that everyone was safe, Chris then knocked over the ladder, courtesy of his long tail.
"Care for another rematch?"growled the blue raptor, glancing at Sharpshot who snarled viciously, while Stapler crouched at her side, eying Chris with a vengeance.
"It's on!"yelled the Raptor Brothers in unison, before taking on their primeval adversaries once more.
   Away from the battle raging beneath them, Alan, Ellie, the Murphy siblings, and the remainder of the Wild Kratts team dashed across the ceiling panels, moving fast, but carefully, so as not to break through. Without warning, a large, scarred head crashed through a panel behind them, snarling and snapping just inches away from Jimmy's leg, earning a terrified shriek from the pilot. Sharpshot's head dropped shortly afterwards, and the group continued their escape.
"See! I had a bad feeling about those things in the beginning!"shouted JZ.
"Not the time, Jimmy!"replied Aviva, inwardly hoping that the Kratt Bros were faring well against the raptors.
  Not long afterwards, another head, this time with a staple imbedded in her nose, erupted out of a panel only a hair's length away from Ellie, only to be pushed out of the way by a quick spring from the green raptor down below.
"Go on! We've got you covered!"shouted Chris.
Grant looked around frantically until his eyes fell upon an air duct a few yards away.
"Follow me!"
They continued moving, but Stapler's head crashed through the ceiling again, this time right underneath Lex!
The twelve-year old screamed as she was lifted up by the raptor's head, pinned to the ceiling above. The bone-digger immediately took action, smashing his boot into the side of Stapler's face. Infuriated by the blows, she tried snapping her jaws at Grant's foot before the dinosaur's weight pulled her back down with a crash, taking Lex with her as she clung for dear life at the edge of the panel.
  In that moment Martin lunged forward, leaping effortlessly, pushing the girl into Alan's waiting arms before being tackled by an angry Stapler, sending them both crashing back down to earth. Grant and Lex then scrambled over to the air duct to join the others.
  The blue raptor felt himself pinned beneath his attacker's weight as the Velociraptor was about to land the killer blow, only to be forcefully kicked aside by a streak of green, sending Stapler smashing against a wall.
"Thanks, dude."said Martin as Chris helped him back on his clawed feet.
"After saving me from a rampaging T.rex and hungry dinos, it's the least I can do, bro."replied the younger Kratt.
"Duck!" Without wasting time in asking, Chris immediately lowered himself as Sharpshot sprang towards him, only to be felled by a tail slap from the blue theropod. Regaining her footing, the vicious predator glared hatefully at the two imposters before being called to a halt by Stapler's barks. Sharpshot immediately gave an answering squawk back before racing down the halls, joining her pack mate.
"Oh no. Not this again!"exclaimed the blue raptor fretfully, eyes following the retreating dinosaur. Chris' own eyes widened in realization and horror, before recklessly following after Sharpshot, determined to stop the Velociraptor in her tracks. Martin followed not far behind, just as worried.
If they touch one hair on Aviva.. thought Chris angrily, even angrier than he had been during the poacher incident, as he raced as fast as the hall would allow him. Little else was on the creature adventurer's mind except that his girlfriend, his second love aside from nature, the only other tether keeping him on this earth, was in mortal danger.
****Meanwhile....****
The escapees descended down from out of the air duct, unto a platform that stood alongside the two towering skeletons in the lobby. They continued down to the second platform, then the third, before–a bloodcurdling shriek pierced the air, and looking in the direction of the sound, they spied Stapler standing to the side of the second floor railing, a murderous look clear in her eyes.
"Not again!"cried Koki.
"I'd be mad too if someone put a staple in my nose."remarked JZ, earning a deadpan stare from the technician.
   It's too far a jump to the lobby floor, so Alan climbed onto the nearest skeleton, the massive sauropod. Everyone else soon followed his lead. Ellie and Aviva went to the tail. Lex and Koki moved to the front. Grant landed on the main body in the middle with Jimmy and Tim.
The Velociraptor then leaped forward, landing on the back of the sauropod skeleton, causing the enormous fossil to split into three sections, spinning in different directions, with their respective passengers clinging on tightly. Fortunately, they didn't fall to the ground yet since each section was dangling on the ceiling on supporting cables, but even those were beginning to give way as well. At this point, Sharpshot sprang out of cover, coming to a stop just below the collapsing skeleton, snapping her jaws, waiting expectantly for her chance to strike. The raptors had set a trap.
Presently the scarred raptor came to the tail where the inventor and the paleobotanist clung on for dear life. However, the cables holding them began to groan under the weight before suddenly, it jerked violently, causing Aviva to lose her grip. This was the moment that Sharpshot had been waiting for.
Soon Chris arrived on the scene, where to his horror, he saw Aviva barely hanging on to the dangling sauropod's tail, out of Ellie's reach, with the Velociraptor snapping at her heels.
"Aviva!"exclaimed a horrified Chris from his place by the rail. Raptor legs, don't fail me now.. With that silent plea, the green raptor made his leap of faith, letting gravity take its course, pouncing straight for his target.
As Sharpshot prepared to make her final lunge, the green imposter landed square on the raptor's side, knocking her unconscious on impact. The carnivore was down before she even knew what hit her. Noticing that it was safe, and seeing her wild knight in green armor just below her, the inventor closed her eyes before releasing her grip, falling right into Chris' waiting arms.
"Are you alright, Aviva?"asked the Kratt in raptor form.
"I am now."replied Aviva dreamily before planting a kiss on Chris' cheek, causing him to blush bright red.
All of a sudden, the very earth shook behind them as Martin made his landing, once again in his T.rex form. Having lost his grip on the sauropod's rib cage, Tim felt himself free falling before being caught in Martin's gentle jaws. The Kratt in T.rex form then utilized his massive body to catch the rest of the group, still dangling like Christmas ornaments on the dismembered skeleton. From her place on the midsection, Stapler screeched a shrill challenge to the giant interloper, only to be sent flying in a shower of dust and bone debris by the blue Rex's powerful tail.
She landed a few yards away and staggered for a moment, the wind knocked out of her.
Martin then lowered himself on his belly to more easily allow his passengers to dismount.
"Mission accomplished!"cheered the Dino Brothers simultaneously, exchanging high threes/twos.
"We got the system up and running again," began Jimmy Z. "we outlasted a pair of vicious, bloodthirsty dinos, and we're back together. I say now's a good time to get outta here before–" but the Tortuga pilot stopped mid sentence upon seeing the shadow of a third raptor, bigger than the other two, standing behind the visqueen, before coming out from under the plastic, drawing herself to her full height.
"It's the alpha."whispered Alan.
  "Bloody Mary."murmured the two Dino Brothers in unison.
As Mary slowly crept towards them, Alan, Ellie, Lex, Tim and the rest of the Wild Kratts team made their way between the safety of Martin Rex's enormous legs, while Raptor Chris guarded the front. The huge predator then uttered the familiar barking call to rally the rest of her comrades. A series of answering shrieks and squawks told them that Stapler and Sharpshot had recovered and were now fully awake. Soon the whole pack had them completely surrounded, as they circled the group, looking for any weakness.
"Be careful, gentlemen."cautioned the paleontologist, addressing both creature adventurers. "Velociraptors like to use coordinated attack patterns, so be on your toes."
"Thanks for the heads-up, Alan."said Martin, before addressing the group below him," Everyone. No matter what happens, stay close to us."
"Wait, what?!"exclaimed JZ, not liking where this was going. "Does that mean we have to–"
"I'm afraid so, Jimmy."replied Chris, without taking his eyes off the circling pack. "We have to fight our way out of this–" he said, before being joined by the blue theropod as they both roared in unison,
"With Dino Power!"
   Soon the group had to cover their ears as the primeval war cry of a Tyrannosaurus echoed throughout the Visitors Center, followed by the bone-chilling, raptorial challenge as the two radically different theropods faced their adversaries, prepared for the fight of their lives, to protect their friends and loved ones, or die trying.
  With a piercing shriek from Bloody Mary, the Velociraptors began to rapidly close in on the huddled group from all sides. Stapler went for a head on attack, to be met in a midair spring by Chris' claws while Sharpshot attempted an assault from the rear, only to be at the business end of Martin's tail, sending the raptor flying back several yards.
"Martin, look out!"warned Tim, spying Mary stalking along the blue Rex's flanks.  Seeing the pack leader on time, the Kratt in T.rex form was able to headbutt his adversary away just as the latter made her pounce. But at that point, Sharpshot, who had recovered from her sling across the rotunda, made her move, leaping on Martin's right flank, biting and slashing. Mary soon joined the onslaught, striking the left side, before assaulting the tyrannosaur's face, careful to avoid the snapping jaws.
  The rest of the party had to scramble out of the way to avoid Martin's thundering feet, as the blue Rex struggled and shook violently in an attempt to shake off his attackers.
Meanwhile, Chris felt himself fall flat on his back, trying to protect his throat as Stapler tried reaching it, jaws snapping viciously. He was successful until he felt a horrible pain in his ribs as the Velociraptor buried her toe claw deep in his abdomen, causing the green raptor to screech in pain. Chris then summoned enough strength to kick his attacker off of him before the dinosaur could deliver the killing bite. The creature adventurer staggered back on his feet before Stapler pounced on him once more, meaning to finish him off.
Just as suddenly as it began, the attack ceased.
The Kratt in raptor form felt the theropod's weight leave him, and rising back in his feet, he saw, to his dread, Stapler turn her attention to Aviva, armed with nothing but the Robot Arm that extended out of her pack. The gadget swung and coiled, striking and pinching the Velociraptor's face. Angered by the stinging blows, Stapler snapped her jaws, grabbing the elongated machine in her teeth before biting it in half, rendering the contraption useless, disarming the inventor. Tossing the severed arm aside, the deadly predator advanced towards her new target, glaring daggers at the insolent human before slashing her left arm with her razor-sharp hand claws, earning a cry of pain from her victim.
That was enough to push Chris over the edge. He charged forward, forgetting the pain of his wounds, blood boiling, adrenaline pumping, before leaping straight at Aviva's assailant, tackling the raptor to the ground, his teeth firmly fixed on Stapler's neck. The raptor struggled to break free of her enemy's grip, but the green interloper was relentless, shaking her in his mouth before throwing her like a rag doll across the rotunda. But the agile carnivore quickly landed on her feet, claws digging into the tile floor to slow her down. Once more, she glared coldly at her opponent, who firmly stood between her and her offender. Chris glared back, before once more engaging Stapler in a full, frontal attack. However, this time the Velociraptor gained the upper hand, fatigue and his injury getting the better of the Kratt in raptor form.
Having her adversary pinned under her claws, Stapler was about to deliver the final blow when she was startled by a blaring roar. Following the retreating predator's line of sight, Chris could see Sharpshot and Bloody Mary get the better of Martin, wearing him down from exhaustion with their hit and run tactics. He had just enough time to roll out of the way as the Kratt in T.rex form came crashing to the ground, causing the lobby to shake with his fall. The two raptors then moved in to finish off their gigantic foe, Mary attempting to tear at his throat while Sharpshot immobilized Martin's massive head, rendering his jaws useless.
Chris summoned all his strength to get up and save his brother only to be tackled mercilessly under Stapler's talons.
  "Run!" hollered an immobilized Chris while holding off the voracious carnivore's deadly jaws, noticing the rest his friends all huddled together, eyes widened in horror. "You all need to get out of here while you still can!"
"We're not leaving you!"cried Aviva, trying her hardest to control the tears welling up in her gray eyes as she rushed to his aid, striking the raptor square on the nose with a rib bone from the dismembered skeleton. She couldn't bear the idea of leaving  for safety, with her two friends being left to face a grim fate. Jimmy and Koki shared the same notion, for as the enraged dinosaur charged, they both took the inventor's side, waving their bone clubs threateningly, briefly discouraging the dinosaur before all three stood by the fallen Kratts.
"Back off, you overgrown lizard!"shouted Koki, swinging her weapon in Stapler's face, who growled menacingly before being chucked by a flying bone projectile. The predator looked in the direction the missile came from and spied the paleontological pair coming to their friends' defense, closely followed by Lex and Tim. Seeing that she was outnumbered, Stapler called in her pack mates.
The other two raptors halted their attack on Martin before joining Stapler in cutting off the humans' escape.
"It's been a great pleasure being with you all,"announced Alan, sauropod bone in hand, preparing for what would surely be their final stand. The defeated Dino Brothers summoned what little energy they had left, slowly rising on their feet, unwilling to go down without a fight. The raptor pack slowly moved in for the kill, all three crouched in a pre attack stance, set for a massacre.
  A period of silence.
   Without warning, with the force of a runaway freight train, a massive head plowed its way through the unfinished side wall in a cloud of dust and debris, before a set of five-foot jaws clamped down on Stapler. Twelve-inch, bone-crushing teeth sunk deep into the Velociraptor's side, and the helpless creature shrieked in agony as she was lifted nearly twenty feet above the ground, before being shaken violently in her attacker's jaws. The other raptors abandoned their attack to deal with this new threat.
  Everyone looked up in stunned amazement as they realized who had come to their rescue; none other than Tyrannosaurus Wrecksy. The huge theropod must have been attracted by the smell and noise of the battle and had come looking for easy pickings.
  Martin and Chris chose that moment to deactivate back to their proper forms before  joining the others who were perched behind the large rock holding the T.rex skeleton for safety. The massive predator then dropped Stapler, who lied dead at her feet. Sharpshot and Bloody Mary abandoned their attack on the group before engaging their new enemy who had just slaughtered one of their own. Before Wrecksy could devour the slain raptor, the Tyrannosaurus roared in pain as the alpha raptor lunged at her side, slashing and biting along the huge carnivore's neck and sides. Sharpshot soon joined in the melee, striking the Rex's right flank.
"A never before seen creature moment!"announced Martin.
"Two radically different apex predators, locked in mortal combat."added the Kratt in green. "Fangs against claws, speed against sheer size, intelligence against brute strength. Who will win?"
"On one end, we have the Velociraptor," said Alan in his best announcer's voice. "a formidable pack hunter, armed with formidable teeth and lethal claws–"
"And on the other end there's Tyrannosaurus rex, Queen of the Dinosaurs! Forty-feet long and armed to the teeth."replied Martin, rooting for the T.rex, who was trying to shake off her smaller but more agile adversaries, jaws snapping in her attempt to grab Mary.
"Umm..guys? Shouldn't we get going?"questioned the Tortuga computer whizz in mild disbelief. It seemed only moments ago that they were fighting for their lives against these creatures, but now they were watching the battle, wide eyed, as though it were another round of WrestleMania.
"Oh yeah."said Martin sheepishly."Totally forgot about that."
Rolling his eyes, the bone-digger took charge. "Right this way. Follow me." With that, he led the others around the battle royal out through the exit as the three dinosaurs clashed.
"If only we could just stay and watch."murmured Martin almost regretfully.
"I feel ya, bro."added Chris in agreement. "But we gotta get out of here before we end up as the main course. Let's not push our luck."
As the survivors made their way out the exit, the sun's setting light briefly blinded them before their eyes were greeted by a jeep parked in front of the stairs, the same beat-up vehicle from last night, Aviva and Ellie realize. Hammond was behind the wheel while Malcolm lied in the back.
"Mr. Hammond," Alan began, "after careful consideration, we've decided not to endorse your park."
"So have I."replied the entrepreneur. As soon as everyone was loaded, Hammond hit the gas and the jeep took off.
****Meanwhile...****
As the two raptors continued their assault, Wrecksy continued to rock and shake violently, eventually causing Sharpshot to lose her grip on the T.rex's flank, crashing to the ground. Before the Velociraptor could recover, a massive three-toed foot came down on her, crushing the life out of the smaller dinosaur.
One raptor down, the Tyrannosaurus then turned her attention to the leader of the pack, clinging and biting at her neck. A quick jerk caused Bloody Mary to lose balance before the raptor slid straight into the larger predator's open jaws. The smaller theropod struggled to free herself, but a crushing bite sealed her fate. Wrecksy then whirled around, throwing the dead raptor straight into the standing T.rex skeleton, causing it to collapse in an explosion of bones, falling to pieces around the living animal.
  The Tyrannosaurus rex then rose to her full height before filling the lobby with a blaring, primeval roar of victory. The sound was loud and deafening, a cry from some other world, and the vibrations rattled the entire Visitors Center. The banner which dangled over the lobby by its one remaining wire finally fell in a heap at Wrecksy's feet.
'When Dinosaurs Ruled The Earth.'